Blind Wombat Requires Gentle Handling

Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary carer Donna Stepan’s selfless volunteer work knows no bounds, taking many wombats into her home in various stages of illness or injury.

In this video, Stepan shows her gentle handling of a blind wombat, who has been affected by the recent heatwave.

Stepan told Storyful: "The Australian heatwave has taken its toll on wombats this year. Many people think that because wombats live underground in burrows, they are fine. This has not been the case. Some of their burrows have not been deep enough, or they have been ousted as they are sick by healthier wombats.

“This poses a <span class="caps">BIG</span> problem as wombats cannot sweat to cool down. So once heat stress sets in (above 24 degrees for the bare nosed wombats) they cannot cool themselves, hence stress, then heat stress and so it escalates until the animal is in trouble.

“This young female, oh how I wish she could talk but she is one of the lucky ones to have been found. We have a lot of work to do with her at the sanctuary however she is responding very well to being fed so we should be able to save her. Whether she regains her sight is yet to be seen.”